POLS 110 Exam 3

Congress: The First Branch

-Congress is the most important representative institution in American government

-Constituents hold their representatives to account through elections

-The legislative process is driven by numerous political forces: political parties, committees, staffs, caucuses, rules of lawmaking, and the president

-Congress also makes the law. Before a bill can become law, it must pass through the legislative process - a complex set of procedures.

The US Congress has authority over the two most important powers given to any government:

1. The power of force (control over the nation's military forces) - has the power to declare war

2. The power over money

Senate has the power to ratify treaties (by a two-thirds vote) and to approve the appointment of ambassadors

Constituency

The district making up the area from which an official is elected.

Delegate

A legislator who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency.

Trustee

A legislator who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency.

Agency Representation

The type of representation in which representatives are held accountable to their constitutes if they fail to represent them properly. That is, constituents have the power to hire and fire their representatives.

How members of congress represent their districts

Individual constituents:

-Solve problems with agencies, provide jobs, sponsor private bills, sponsor appointments to service academies, answer complaints, provide information

Organized Interests:

-Intervene with regulatory agencies, obtain federal grants and contracts, help with importing or exporting, help in securing favorable tax status, make promotional speeches and symbolic gestures

District as a whole:

-Obtain federal projects, obtain grants and contracts that promote employment, support policies that enhance economic prosperity, safety, cultural resources, and so on, participate in state and regional caucuses

Bicameral legislature

A legislative assembly composed of two chambers, or houses.

Money Bill

A bill concerned sole with taxation or government spending.

-Relating to the House of Representatives

Congress: The House V The Senate

The House

-Centralized and organized body- better equipped to play a role in the routine governmental process

-More attuned than senators to local interest groups with specific legislative agendas

-"the peoples house" and that its members reflect public opinion in a timely manner

-House can impeach

-Can raise taxes

-Revenue bills start here (e.g. taxes)

The Senate

-More of a deliberative body- the forum in which all ideas can receive a through public airing

-Serve larger and more heterogenous communities

-Agents for groups and interests organized on a statewide or nations basis

-Trial for impeachment happens in the Senate

-Ratify treaties

-Confirmation power (over 1,000 offices that require confirmation including federal judges)

Incumbency

Holding the political office for which one is running

-The advantage of this is evident in the high rates pf re-election: over 90% of House members and nearly 90% for senators

Casework

An effort by members of Congress to gain the trust and support of constituents by providing personal services. One important type of casework is helping constituents obtain favorable treatment from the federal bureaucracy.

Patronage

The opportunities available to legislatures to provide direct services and benefits to their constituents, especially making partisan appointments to offices and conferring grants, licenses, or special favors.

Pork-barrel Legislation

Legislative apportions that legislatures use to provide government funds for projects benefiting their home district or state.

-A common form of this is the "earmark" the practice by which members of congress insert language into otherwise pork-free bills that provides special benefits for their own constituents

Congressional Districts

-Re-drawn every 10 years

-Each district should be representing ~70,000 people

Gerrymandering

The apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give an advantage to one political party.

Party Caucus (Democrats) or Party Conference (Republicans)

A nominally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates or leaders, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters

-The leader of the majority party becomes the Speaker of the House (2018 - Paul Ryan) (1994 - Newt Gingrich)*

Speaker of the House

The chief presiding officer of the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected at the beginning of every congress on a straight party vote. He or she is the most important party and House leader.

Majority Leader

The elected of the party holding a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. In the House, the majority leader is subordinate in the party hierarchy to the Speaker.

-Currently Kevin McCarthy

Minority Leader

The elected leader of the party holding less than a majority of the sears in the House or Senate

-Currently: Nancy Peloso

Standing Committee

A permanent legislative committee that considers legislation within its designated subject area; the basic unit of deliberation in the House and the Senate

ex: agriculture, armed services, budget, etc.

Six fundamental characteristics define the congressional committee system:

1. The official rules give each standing committee a permeant status

2. The jurisdiction of each standing committee is defined by subject matter of the legislation it deals with

3. Standing committees' jurisdictions usually parallel those of the major departments or agencies in the executive branch

4. Bills are assigned to standing committees on the basis of subject matter

5. Each standing committee is unique

6. Traditionally, each standing committee's hierarchy is based on seniority

Seniority

The priority or status ranking given to an individual on the basis of length of continuous service on a congressional committee

List of individuals whose support is necessary in order to get a measure through Congress and signed into law:

1. A majority of the authorizing subcommittees in the House and the Senate (probably including subcommittee chairs)

2. A majority of the full authorization committee in the House and Senate (probably including committee chairs)

3. A majority of the appropriations subcommittees in the House and Senate (probably including the subcommittee chairs)

4. A majority of the full appropriations committees in the House and Senate (probably including committee chairs)

5. A majority of the House Rules Committee (including its chair)

6. A majority of the full House

7. A majority - possibly as many as 60 votes, if needed to shut off a filibuster - of the Senate

8. The Speaker and majority leader in the House

9. The majority leader in the Senate

10. The president

Closed rule

The provision by the House Rules Committee that restricts the introduction of amendments during debate.

Open rule

The provision by the House Rules Committee that permits floor debate and the addition of amendments to a bill

Cloture

A procedure by which a superior-majority of the members of a legislative body can set a time limit on debate over a given bill.

Filibuster

A tactic in which members of the Senate prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority abandons the legislation. Once given the floor, senators have unlimited time to speak, and it requires a cloture vote of three-fifths of the Senate to end a filibuster.

Conference Committee

A joint committee created to work out a compromise between House and Senate versions of a bill

Veto

The president's constitutional power to reject acts of Congress within 10 days of there passage while Congress is in session. A presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress.

Pocket Veto

A veto that occurs when Congress adjourns during the 10 days a president has to approve a bill and the president has take no action on it.

Party Vote

A role-call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party. Party votes are less common today than they were in the nineteenth century.

Roll-call vote

Voting in which each legislator's yes or no vote is recorded.

Party Discipline

The influence that party leaders have over the behavior of their party members is maintained in a number of ways:

-Committee assignments

-Access to the floor

-Whip system

-Logrolling

-Presidency

Committee Assignments

By giving favorable committee assignments to members, party leaders create a sense of debt

Access to the floor

Ranking committee members in the Senate and the Speaker of the House control the allocation of time for floor debate on bills; legislators want to stay on good terms with these party leaders so that their bills get more floor time

Whip System

A party communications network in each house of Congress. Whips poll their party's members to learn their intentions on specific bills and also convey to members the leadership's views and plans to members.

Current House Whip:

- Majority (R) Steve Scales

- Minority (D) Steny Hoyer

Presidency

The president's legislative proposals are often the most important part of Congress's agenda. Party leaders use partisan support for or opposition to the president's program to rally members

Logrolling

Reciprocal agreements between legislators, usually in voting for or against a bill. In contrast to bargaining, logrolling unites legislators who have nothing in common but their desire to exchange support.

Oversight

The effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies.

Executive Agreement

An agreement between the president and another country that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate's "advice and consent"

Impeachment

The charging of governmental official (president or other) with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" and brining him or her before Congress to determine guilt

Distributive Tendency

The tendency of Congress to spread the benefits of a policy over a wide range of members' districts

Expressed Powers

The powers that the Constitution explicitly grants the federal government

Expressed Powers of the Presidency

The Constitution defines certain specific powers of the presidency. These expressed powers fall into the following categories:

1. Military

-Article II, Section 2, provides for the power as "Commander in Chief of the Army and the Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called in to the actual Service of the United States."

2. Judicial

-Article II, Section 2, also provides the power to "grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

3. Diplomatic

-Article II, Section 3, provides the power to "receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers"

4. Executive

-Article II, Section 3, authorizes the president to see to it that all the laws are faithfully executed; Section 2 gives the chief executive the power to appoint, remove, and supervise all executive officers and to appoint all federal judges.

5. Legislative

-Article I, Section 7, and Article II, Section 3, give the president the power to participate authoritatively in the legislative process

Delegated Powers

Constitutional powers assigned to one branch of the government but exercised by another branch with the express permission of the first

Inherent Powers

Powers claimed by a president that are not expressed in the Constitution but are said to stem from "the rights, duties and obligations of the presidency," claimed mostly during war and national emergencies

Commander in Chief

The power of the president as commander of the national military and the state national guard units (when called into service)

Reprieve

Cancellation or postponement of a punishment

Pardon

Forgiveness of a crime and cancellation of relevant penalty

Amnesty

A pardon extended to a group of persons

Executive Privilege

The claim that confidential communications between a president and the president's close advisers should not be revealed without the consent of the president

Veto Power

The president's constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress within 10 days of their passage while Congress is in session; a presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress

Line-item Veto

The power of the executive to veto specific provisions (lines) of a bill passed by the legislature

War Powers Resolution

A 1973 resolution of Congress declaring that the President can send troops into action abroad only by authorization of Congress or if US troops are already under attack or seriously threatened. For the most part, presidents have ignored the resolution.

Legislative Initiative

The president's inherent power to bring a legislative agenda before Congress

Executive order

A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of legislation

Cabinet

The secretaries or chief administrators, of the major departments of the federal government. Cabinet secretaries are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate.

National Security Council (NSC)

A presidential foreign-policy advisory council comprising the president; the vice president; the secretaries of state, defense, and the treasury; the attorney general; and other officials invented by the president

Regulatory Review

The Office of Management and Budget function of reviewing all agency regulations and other rule making before they become official policy

Signing Statement

An announcement made by the president when signing a bill into law

The Executive Branch: Analysis

-The bureaucracy is necessary for the maintenance of order in a large society

-The size of the federal bureaucracy is large but has not been growing faster than the economy or the population as a whole

-By implementing the laws and policies passed by elected officials, bureaucrats can be seen as agents of Congress and the presidency. As in any principal-agent relationship, the agent (the bureaucracy) is delegated authority and has a certain amount of leeway for independent action

-Bureaucrats have their own goals and thus exercise their own influence on policy. Congressional committees use oversight to make the bureaucracy accountable.

Bureaucracy

The complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that all large institutions use to coordinate the work of their personnel

They:

1. Implement the laws that Congress writes

2. Make & enforce their own rules

3. Settle disputes through administrative adjudication

Implementation

The efforts of departments and agencies to the development of rules, regulations, and bureaucratic procedures to translate laws into action

Types of Government Agencies

There are four main types of bureaucratic agencies within the US federal government

1. Cabinet departments

2. Independent agencies

3. Government corporations

4. Independent regulatory commissions

Cabinet Departments

The largest subunits of the executive branch. Each of the 15 departments is headed by a cabinet secretary, and departments encompass related agencies and bureaus.

Example:

Department of Justice (encompasses more than 50 agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Tribal Justice, and the U.S. Parole Commission)

Independent agencies

Agencies set up by Congress outside the cabinet departments to provide specific public goods and services such as protection of the environment or information from space exploration.

Examples:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA

Government Corporations

Government agencies that preform and charge for a market service such as transporting rail passengers

Example:

Amtrack

Independent Regulatory Commissions

Agencies given broad discretion to make rules regulating a specific type of activity

Examples:

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Clientele Agency

A department or bureau of government whose mission is to promote, serve, or represent a particular interest

Regulatory Agencies

A department, bureau, or independent agency whose primary mission is to ensure that individuals and organizations comply with the statues under its jurisdiction

Administrative Legislation

Rules made by regulatory agencies which have the force of legislation

Federal Reserve System

A system of 12 Federal Reserve banks that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and credit; regulates member banks; and uses monetary policy to fight inflation and deflation

Bureaucratic Drift

The oft-observed phenomenon of bureaucratic implementation that produces policy more to the liking of the bureaucracy than faithful to the original intention of the legislation that created it, but without triggering a political reaction from elected officials

Deregulation

The policy of reducing the number of rules promulgated by federal regulatory agencies

Devolution

The policy of delegating a program or passing it down from one level of government to a lower level, such as from the national government to state and local governments

Privatization

The act of moving all or part of a program from the public sector to the private sector

How the president may regulate bureaucracy...

-Appoint and remove agency heads

-Reorganize the bureaucracy (with congressional approval)

-Make changes in agencies' budget proposals

-Initiate or adjust policies that would alter the bureaucracy's activities

How Congress may regulate bureaucracy...

-Pass legislation that alters the bureaucracy's activities

-Abolish existing programs

-Investigate bureaucratic activities and force bureaucrats to testify about them

-Influence presidential appointments of agency heads and other officials

How Judiciary may regular bureaucracy...

-Rule on whether bureaucrats have acted within the law and require policy changes to comply with he law

-Force the bureaucracy to respect the rights of individuals through hearings and other proceedings

-Rule on the constitutionality of all rules and regulations

Criminal Law

The branch of law that regulates the conduct of individuals, defines crimes, and specifies punishment for criminal acts.

Type of case of dispute:

-Cases arising out of actions that violate laws protecting the health, safety, and morals of the community. The government is always the plaintiff

Civil Law

The branch of law that deals with disputes that do not involve criminal penalties

Type of case of dispute:

-"Private law" involving disputes between citizens or between government and citizen where no crime is alleged. Two general types are contract and tort. Contract cases are disputes that arise over voluntary actions. Tory cases are disputes that arise out of obligations inherent in social life. Negligence and slander are examples of torts.

Precedents

Prior cases whose principles are used by judges as the bases for their decisions in present cases

Public Law

Cases involving the powers of government or rights of citizens

Type of case or dispute:

All cases where the powers of the government or the rights of citizens are involved. The government is the defendant. Constitutional law involves judicial review of the basis of a government's action in relation to specific clauses of the Constitution as interpreted in Supreme Court cases. Administrative law involves disputes of the statutory authority, jurisdiction, or procedures of administrative agencies.

Trial Court

The first court to hear a criminal or civil case

Cort of Appeals (or appellate court)

A court that hears the appeals of trial-court decisions

Supreme Court

The highest court in a particular state or in the United States. This court primarily serves an appellate function

Jurisdiction

The types of cases over which a court has authority

Due Process

Proceeding according to law and with adequate protection for individual rights

Writ of habeas corpus

A court order demanding that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention. Hates corpus is guaranteed by the Constitution and can be suspended only in cases of rebellion or invasion

Chief Justice

The justice on the Supreme Court who presides over the Court's public sessions

Senatorial Courtesy

The practice whereby the president, before formally nominating a person for a federal district judgeship, finds out whether the senators from the candidate's state support the nomination

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to determine whether the actions of the president, the Congress, and the legislatures are or are not consistent with the Constitution. The Supreme Court asserted the power to review federal statues in Marbury V Madison

Supremacy Clause

A clause of Article VI of the Constitution that states that all laws and treaties approved by the national government are the supreme laws of the United States and superior to all laws adopted by any states or other subdivision

Ripeness

A criterion used by courts to avoid hearing cases that depend on hypothetical future events

Standing

The right to initiate a court case, requiring that one show a substantial stake in the outcome

Class-Action suit

A lawsuit in which a large number of persons with common interests join together under a representative party to bring or defend a lawsuit, as when hundreds of workers join together to sue a company

Mootness

A criterion used by courts to avoid hearing cases that no longer require resolution

Writ of certiorari

A formal request to have the Supreme Court review a decision of a lower court. Certiorari is from a Latin word meaning "to make more certain"

Amicus Curiae

"Friend of the court" an individual or group that is not a party to a lawsuit but has an interest in influencing the outcome